Umbrella covers are well known in the art such as disclosed in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,370. With respect to my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469, although the umbrella cover described therein is satisfactory for most purposes, it contains certain features which are not as desirable from a manufacturing and storage standpoint. Namely, this cover utilizes a zipper closure for a slit extending substantially the entire length of the cover as well as having an assembled rod which also extends for substantially the entire length of the cover. While these features help facilitate usage of the cover, they can be disadvantageous from a manufacturing and storage standpoint in that the long rod may make storage or packaging of the cover cumbersome, and the zipper may rust if made of metal or may experience difficulty in opening if made of plastic.
As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,370, in an effort to overcome some of those disadvantages, an umbrella cover may be provided which does not have a zipper closure in that it forms an envelope, similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,820,040 for use on trees. However, such a cover does not have an installed rigid support but rather relies on the use of a pole whose tip is slipped into a pocket to lift the cover on and off the umbrella. This arrangement is unsatisfactory and is less advantageous in use than the prior art arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469. Thus in attempting to solve some of the potential manufacturing and storage difficulties of the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469, the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,370 reintroduces the usage disadvantages previously overcome by the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469. In addition, applicant is not aware of any satisfactory prior art manufacturing methods in which an umbrella cover capable of retaining an installed rigid support rod can be readily made from a single blank of material. Thus, applicant is not presently aware of any satisfactory prior art arrangement which is advantageous not only in usage but in manufacturing and storage as well.
These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention.